Young people demonstrated their practical skills in various disciplines. Sustainability award at the WorldSkills Competition From September 10 to 15, 2024, the WorldSkills Competition held in Lyon, France, focused on the vocational skills of young technical skilled workers. Around 1,400 apprentices from more than 70 countries in 59 disciplines competed against each other over a total of four competition days. Festo Didactic has been a global industry partner of WorldSkills for many years. We provide training and educational materials and develop innovative solutions for training skilled workers. In Lyon, we participated as the official equipment provider for the disciplines of Mechatronics, Industry 4.0, Water Technology, Renewable Energy, Industrial Mechanics, and Industrial Control. We also joined forces with Adiro Automatisierungstechnik GmbH to award a sustainability prize “Sustainable Practice Award” in the skills 04 Mechatronics and 55 Water Technology. The challenge for the participants was not simply to deliver premium quality within a short period of time but to work in such a way as to make the most efficient use of resources and to protect the environment. The aim is to anchor sustainable working practices more firmly within the awareness of the participants and in training practices overall. Using green technologies sustainably The Skill 55 “Water Technology” has been part of the WorldSkills Competition since 2015 and was designated as its first “green” skills competition in 2017. Sustainability and environmental goals naturally play an important role in water technology. The aim of the Sustainable Practice Award was to demonstrate how typical tasks in this field can be carried out in an environmentally friendly way. As a consequence, our experts have applied methods for measuring the environmental performance provided. For example, they documented the waste generated during the installation of pipes and electrical wiring, as well as water consumption. Optimum use of chemicals, such as precipitants, was monitored during laboratory work. Furthermore, an assessment was carried out in order to establish whether the participants spilt liquids, kept their workplaces clean, and used the correct amounts of cleaning agents. Ultimately, the team from China came out in front in the overall standings. Singapore followed in second place and Germany was ranked third. Energy-saving approach with compressed air Mechatronics is an interdisciplinary field, combining mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, and computer science. Festo Didactic offers a wide range of training systems and learning platforms. They cover these disciplines and help the participants to be successful in international competition. A key parameter for sustainability assessment in the skill 04 “Mechatronics” was compressed-air consumption. This metric was measured for the entire duration of the competition across the workplace – at system level and at the workbench system where modules were prepared and tested. First place was taken by an apprentice duo from Switzerland, the second place went to India, and the third place to China. In 2024, the prestigious WorldSkills Competition was held in Lyon. Two mechatronics technicians from Festo participated, representing Germany in the skill Industry 4.0. Sustainable Practice Award Festo SE & Co. KG Sustainability Report 2024 Festo SE & Co. KG Sustainability Report 2024 2. Social 42 43
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